SC receives plea to set up COVID centres at religious places with tax exemption

New Delhi, May 10: Advocate Piyush Hans has filed a plea at the SC seeking directions to convert Religious and Charitable places that own property that enjoys benefit u/S12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act, into covid centres.

 

 

 

 

As there were some technical glitches in the Court's server, a three-judge bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud that was scheduled to hear the plea was unable to do the same. The Supreme Court has been approached by the President of Taxpayers Association of Bharat seeking directions to Religious and Charitable places who own property, like Ashrams, Madrassas, Gurudwaras, Church etc, and enjoy benefit u/S12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act, into COVID Care Centers.

 

 

The petitioner has requested for their further transactions must be ceased with immediate effect and their funds be utilized for COVID patients. The plea has sought directions to develop, maintain and circulate district wise dashboard and web portal for COVID Patients displaying their needs of Oxygen, Medicine, Hospitalisation, etc and to appoint districtwise NODAL officer.

 

 

 

 

The plea also tries to put light on the executive leadership on regional level in such matters and stated that the responsibility and accountability is clearly fixed in the leader on the spot in an ideal system. The petitioner has urged the Court to direct on the responsibility and accountability of the 'MP's and MLA's for all matters within their Constituency along with the District officers. The plea states that this can be done by setting up various 'panchayats' of enlightened permanent residents, NGO's, Academia, businesses, Youth, etc. all working together, transparently, so that the development of Constituency can be planned on long-term basis by those who live and work there in these COVID times.